Our tour bus - or so we thought - for Taroko Gorge arrived at 7:45am, a good 15 minutes early. That was no problem because we were already waiting eagerly in the lobby. We drove down what seemed like endless back alleys in Hualien, stopping here and there to pick up passengers. Then, around the time when I thought the bus should be turning north to Taroko, it turned in to the bus depot. The driver said something in Mandarin and everyone - except us - filed off the bus. Thankfully a couple of people knew enough English to explain that we were changing to a bigger tour bus. Ah-so!
The drive to the Taroko park entrance was quiet. At the park entrance we were allowed off the bus for 20 minutes to check out the park headquarters and the interpretive center. There wasn't a lot of English signage so we were back at the bus before anyone else.
Once everyone was back on board the driver turned the bus around and we headed into the park along the only road. Our first stop was the Bulowan Recreational Area. It was basically a parking lot with an interpretive center that showed a 20-minute movie (entirely in Chinese). Simone and I looked at the map and saw a trail to Swallow's Grotto that was listed as a 15-minute one-way trip. "Sweet!" we thought. The guide at the interpretive center also confirmed it was only 15 minutes long. So, we headed off down the trail.
When I say "down," I mean we walked down a steep trail and then down even steeper stairs. We kept going down and down and down and down until we'd passed the 15 minute mark and were nowhere near the bottom of the trail. We realized we'd been misled by the English map and the guide at the interpretive center, and decided to abort. We took one final picture and then began the hike back up the "trail" to the recreational area.
I had to stop several times to catch my breath and get my heart rate down. I'm not in the greatest shape right now but I swear that it wouldn't matter how fit you were, the oppressive heat and humidity would challenge anyone climbing that trail. So, I just put my head down and climbed until we finally reached the trail entrance and the recreational area again. We got there just in time to board the bus and move on to the next stop on the tour.
That next stop happened to be a pull off on the road - just above Swallow's Grotto. So, ironically, we did make it to the grotto after all. We took lots of pictures (probably too many) but it was hard to get a good shot of the shallow pools and steep riverbed walls that formed the grotto.
After "exploring" the grotto we headed to Tianxian, where we sat down to a set lunch prepared by the staff at the Youth Activity Center Hostel. The set lunch consisted of white rice, two or three plates of (typically limp and bland) Taiwanese boiled greens, grilled chicken, sweet and sour pork, steamed white fish, soft tofu, soup, and orange watermelon. The steamed fish was surprisingly good. I have avoided eating fish in Taiwan because it's usually deep fried and of suspicious origin. Strange that I had to travel all the way to Taroko Gorge to get good fish!
After lunch we drove to the Tunnel of Nine Turns. Unfortunately you can no longer walk through the tunnel. We could only take pictures of the tunnel entrance from a recently-constructed viewing platform. From there we drove here and there stopping for pictures and short walks. Our final stop was the Eternal Springs Shrine. The weather had turned by then and it started raining. I took as many pictures as I could without getting my camera lens and camera body wet. I walked a short distance through the covered tunnel to the shrine before turning around and heading back to the bus. To be honest, I wasn't that keen on walking to the shrine and spending a minute taking pictures before having to rush back.
We thought the tour ended with that, but on the way back to Hualien the driver turned the bus into a parking lot behind a factory. It turned out to be one of those food factories that had a shop in front where staff hawked packages of this or that special Taiwanese food. We looked around but weren't that interested.
Again, we thought the tour was over but the driver stopped at a beach - Chishingtan Beach, to be specific. As we pulled up I noticed the distinct outline of our hotel just a short distance away. Mom, Simone, and I consulted and decided to walk back to the hotel from the park instead of taking the tour bus all the way into town and then catching the transfer bus back to the hotel. The walk was excellent and only took about 20 minutes. We were probably happily showering and freshening up in our room before the tour bus got back to town.
We decided to head back to the Salt Lick for dinner and caught a cab there around 6pm. It happened to be the same driver/cab that took us there the night before. The driver was a smiling older gentleman with limited English but a great enthusiasm for communication. Oh, and his spotless cab had the most pleasant lemon scent - it was so distinctive that we nicknamed it the Lemon Cab. On the way to the Salt Lick he pulled out his iPad and showed us pictures of the people he drove around Taroko Gorge that day. Seeing the pictures, we kind of kicked ourselves about taking the tour instead of hiring a driver for the day.
At the Salt Lick we ordered chicken wings, chili cheese fries, and coleslaw. The chicken wings had a fabulous smoke taste and a just-bearable hot BBQ sauce. The chili cheese fries were the star of the meal, though - everyone dug in and swooned over the crunchy fries, smokey chili and melty cheese.
Like the night before, we asked the staff to order us a cab. It arrived very quickly and we happily got in - but moments later the happiness wore off when the driver started banging his left fist on the door frame, honking at other drivers, yelling at the dispatcher over the radio, and chewing betelnut like crazy. He also had a penchant for taking his eyes off the road while he searched around for things in the cab and drifting across lanes as a result. He spit betelnut juice into a cup a couple of times, which was gross enough, but then he started to spit and didn't quite make it and ended up coughing up a huge betelnut phlegm ball. He eventually spit that into the cup which made Mom cry out "Oh God!" and make movements to open the door and leap out of the cab. The driver heard her and I was praying in the front that she wouldn't say anything else, because I didn't want him to freak out on us and potentially toss us out onto the side of the road in some strange area of town. Simone managed to calm Mom down and the driver - possibly hoping to be polite - chose to open his door, lean out, and spit onto the road from then onwards. Needless to say, it was an authentic Taiwanese experience.
30.7.13
Day 5: Hualien
I met Mom and Simone at Songshan Airport around 9:45am. We checked through to Hualien and then waited at the gate for our flight. We were on TransAsia flight 11 with about 100 other passengers. The plane was mid-sized and no more than half full so there was a lot of room. We were surprised to be served drinks even though the flight was only 30 minutes - unheard of in Canada!
After arriving at Hualien Airport we collected our bags and caught a cab to the hotel. We were a little disappointed initially - the "quaint fishing town" where the hotel was located had a lot of haphazardly-constructed buildings and piles of construction rubbish. The roads also seemed to be designed by engineers who had forgotten to take their ADD medication. But, the hotel was a lovely Mediterranean oasis of white walls and blue trim and tile floors.
We were hungry so we inquired about where we could find something to eat. They recommended a Japanese restaurant attached to a small museum a short walk down the road. It was my first time ordering at a restaurant that didn't have an English menu, but thankfully the menu had pictures. I ordered us three of the set meal, which consisted of spaghetti-like noodles with fish broth and deep-fried fish and shrimp cakes. Each meal came with chilled black tea sweetened with a bit of fructose syrup.
From there we caught a cab to downtown Hualien for a walkabout. We were shocked, once again, by the haphazard building construction. It seemed like an entire city built by DIY newbies. Plus, almost all of the stores were closed because it was mid-afternoon. We seemed to be the only people wandering the streets.
As we strolled down one of the main streets we saw a strange sight - a stainless-steel "train" next to a restaurant. We had stopped to look at it more closely when a man approached us from the back of the alleyway. He turned out to be the owner of the restaurant and he explained that the "train" was a custom-made smoker. He popped the top open to show us the racks of ribs and chicken that were slow-smoking for the evening's dinner. His dog Blue came over to inspect us and we spent quite a few minutes lavishing him with puppy love. We had such a great talk with Benjamin, the owner, that we promised to return that night for dinner.
After another 30 or so minutes of wandering the "abandoned" downtown I started to feel quite sick to my stomache, like I was going to throw up. We decided to catch a cab back to the hotel. When we arrived our room was ready and we happily went up to the 4th floor to settle in and have a wash up. Mom and Simone went out for a walk while I tried to sleep and not lose my lunch.
After 6pm Mom and Simone were feeling hungry again so we caught a cab back into town to the Salt Lick, the BBQ restaurant we'd stumbled upon earlier in the day. It was packed but they managed to find us a table inside. Mom and Simone ordered the pulled pork sandwich and hush puppies. I had a small bowl of chili and some coleslaw. The food was excellent and we had a great time chatting with the owner and learning a bit more about how he found himself living in Taiwan and opening an American BBQ restaurant. It was an interesting story!
Back at the hotel we booked a tour of Taroko Gorge for the following day. It started with an 8am pick-up at the hotel so needless to say we were all in bed early!
After arriving at Hualien Airport we collected our bags and caught a cab to the hotel. We were a little disappointed initially - the "quaint fishing town" where the hotel was located had a lot of haphazardly-constructed buildings and piles of construction rubbish. The roads also seemed to be designed by engineers who had forgotten to take their ADD medication. But, the hotel was a lovely Mediterranean oasis of white walls and blue trim and tile floors.
We were hungry so we inquired about where we could find something to eat. They recommended a Japanese restaurant attached to a small museum a short walk down the road. It was my first time ordering at a restaurant that didn't have an English menu, but thankfully the menu had pictures. I ordered us three of the set meal, which consisted of spaghetti-like noodles with fish broth and deep-fried fish and shrimp cakes. Each meal came with chilled black tea sweetened with a bit of fructose syrup.
From there we caught a cab to downtown Hualien for a walkabout. We were shocked, once again, by the haphazard building construction. It seemed like an entire city built by DIY newbies. Plus, almost all of the stores were closed because it was mid-afternoon. We seemed to be the only people wandering the streets.
As we strolled down one of the main streets we saw a strange sight - a stainless-steel "train" next to a restaurant. We had stopped to look at it more closely when a man approached us from the back of the alleyway. He turned out to be the owner of the restaurant and he explained that the "train" was a custom-made smoker. He popped the top open to show us the racks of ribs and chicken that were slow-smoking for the evening's dinner. His dog Blue came over to inspect us and we spent quite a few minutes lavishing him with puppy love. We had such a great talk with Benjamin, the owner, that we promised to return that night for dinner.
After another 30 or so minutes of wandering the "abandoned" downtown I started to feel quite sick to my stomache, like I was going to throw up. We decided to catch a cab back to the hotel. When we arrived our room was ready and we happily went up to the 4th floor to settle in and have a wash up. Mom and Simone went out for a walk while I tried to sleep and not lose my lunch.
After 6pm Mom and Simone were feeling hungry again so we caught a cab back into town to the Salt Lick, the BBQ restaurant we'd stumbled upon earlier in the day. It was packed but they managed to find us a table inside. Mom and Simone ordered the pulled pork sandwich and hush puppies. I had a small bowl of chili and some coleslaw. The food was excellent and we had a great time chatting with the owner and learning a bit more about how he found himself living in Taiwan and opening an American BBQ restaurant. It was an interesting story!
Back at the hotel we booked a tour of Taroko Gorge for the following day. It started with an 8am pick-up at the hotel so needless to say we were all in bed early!
29.7.13
Day 4: Sleep coma and communication problems
I didn't mention it in earlier posts but I haven't been sleeping well. I get transient bouts of insomnia and all of the excitement about Mom and Simone's arrival totally interrupted my sleep cycle, such as it was. So, on Monday I crashed and slept most of the day. Unfortunately there was a problem with the emails I sent to Simone and they didn't arrive until much later in the day. Poor Mom and Simone were worried out of their skulls because I had basically disappeared off the face of the Internet. We didn't sync up properly until the evening. By then they had lost most of the day from waiting around for me. Bah! I hate it when technology fails.
28.7.13
Day 3: Danshui and Ximendeng
I didn't join Mom and Simone for breakfast. Instead, I met them at the hotel around 9:30am. From there we walked to the MRT and made our way north to Danshui. We arrived just as many of the vendors on the boardwalk were setting up for the day. Mom and Simone had great fun taking pictures of the different foods on offer such as quails eggs, squid on sticks, cuttlefish sausage, spiral fried potatoes on sticks, fish balls, 12" tall ice cream cones, sugarcane juice, etc.
We all enjoyed walking along the waterfront. There were quite a few locals out fishing from the shore. Personally, I wouldn't eat anything caught in the Danshui Harbour, but it was still interesting to see people working for their dinner, so to speak.
When we ran out of boardwalk we headed up a few blocks to Fort San Domingo. It was hotter than Hades by then and it was a sweaty walk up the path to the fort. Inside the fort we had fun reading the interpretive signs. We lingered in a few of the rooms, pondering what life would have been like when the fort was in active use. (Okay, to be honest, we were perched next to the air conditioning units.)
We left the fort and went to the British Consulate building. I'm sure the Taiwanese thought the displays of British wallpapers and tea sets were fascinating but it was pretty ho-hum for us, coming from a city that is mocked for being "more British than Britain."
The heat was oppressive by then and we were all getting hungry so we walked down Zhongzheng Road in search of an indoor, air-conditioned place to eat. There were plenty of street foods available for scoffing, of course, but we needed to escape the heat more than anything. We couldn't find anything suitable and eventually found ourselves back at the Danshui MRT station. As the guide/host I was feeling a bit desperate by then. I suggested we walk across the boulevard to the shopping mall to see if it had a food court. Lo and behold, it did! Mom ordered a Taiwanese chicken dish and Simone and I ordered a Korean stone pot dish with pork and noodles. Yum!
Refreshed and refueled, we walked back down Zhongzheng Street to check out sights and shops that we'd skipped over earlier. The Danshui Church was lovely - sadly, however, we couldn't go in. We were surprised to discover a small museum next door in what used to be the Mackay Hospital. It was quite fascinating to learn what an impact Mackay - a Canuck! - had on Danshui. I decided that we should bypass Gongming Street and instead head back to the MRT station. We met a young man and his mother in the station. He overheard us speaking English and struck up a conversation. It turns out that David taught himself to speak English instead of studying at school or at a buxiban. His accent was spot-on and he spoke very naturally.
All of the seats on the MRT were taken so we had to stand all the way home. It wasn't too bad, though - before we knew it we were back at Dongmen. We rested in the hotel for a couple of hours, then picked ourselves up again and headed out. This time, we were on our way to the Ximendeng neighbourhood.
For those who have not been there, Ximendeng is like Times Square in New York - tall buildings, video billboards, flashing neon signs. The main areas of Ximendeng are pedestrian-only, but since this is Taipei trucks and scooters occasionally push their way through the crowds.
Our first stop in Ximendeng was the historic Red House, a red brick building originally built by the Japanese to house administrative offices. It has been converted to an arts center, where independent artists sell their unique wares. We had a great time there and Simone bought a few things to take home as gifts for friends.
From there we crossed over the street and made our way into the thronging crowds. We covered several blocks of the main shopping area, but all we did was take pictures. The clothing in Ximendeng is definitely selected to appeal to the Taipei youth.
After an hour or so we were getting hungry so we went in search of a place to grab dinner. We went to Sam's Hong Kong Noodles, thinking that it would have a "picture" menu and we could just point at what we wanted. Sadly, the menu was entirely in Chinese and I couldn't figure out enough of the characters to order for us. We left and walked back a couple of blocks to the Coco Curry House, a Japanese curry restaurant. We had to wait a few minutes for a table but that was okay because we were able to order from an English menu and as an added bonus some of the staff spoke a bit of English. One part of the meal was quite funny - both Mom and Simone ordered a pot of green tea, but something was wrong and they couldn't deliver the tea. Our waitress tried to explain in Mandarin but that didn't work. Then, another waitress with a bit of English tried to explain. Still no luck. Finally, a senior waitress who was fairly fluent in English came over to explain that they only had one tea pot and that Mom and Simone would have to share. I swear, if they'd just brought the one pot of tea and said nothing, we wouldn't have noticed.
Full of food and tired from the day's walking, we headed back to the MRT station. On the way there we noticed an Orthodox priest handing out brochures. I couldn't walk by and not ask him what he was doing there, so I went over and struck up a conversation. It turns out he has been in Taiwan for over 8 years and is the priest of an Orthodox church near Taipei 101. Who knew? We chatted about a wide range of subjects before wishing each other good night. I'm not religious, but I'm going to have to visit the church the next time I'm in that area.
We all enjoyed walking along the waterfront. There were quite a few locals out fishing from the shore. Personally, I wouldn't eat anything caught in the Danshui Harbour, but it was still interesting to see people working for their dinner, so to speak.
When we ran out of boardwalk we headed up a few blocks to Fort San Domingo. It was hotter than Hades by then and it was a sweaty walk up the path to the fort. Inside the fort we had fun reading the interpretive signs. We lingered in a few of the rooms, pondering what life would have been like when the fort was in active use. (Okay, to be honest, we were perched next to the air conditioning units.)
We left the fort and went to the British Consulate building. I'm sure the Taiwanese thought the displays of British wallpapers and tea sets were fascinating but it was pretty ho-hum for us, coming from a city that is mocked for being "more British than Britain."
The heat was oppressive by then and we were all getting hungry so we walked down Zhongzheng Road in search of an indoor, air-conditioned place to eat. There were plenty of street foods available for scoffing, of course, but we needed to escape the heat more than anything. We couldn't find anything suitable and eventually found ourselves back at the Danshui MRT station. As the guide/host I was feeling a bit desperate by then. I suggested we walk across the boulevard to the shopping mall to see if it had a food court. Lo and behold, it did! Mom ordered a Taiwanese chicken dish and Simone and I ordered a Korean stone pot dish with pork and noodles. Yum!
Refreshed and refueled, we walked back down Zhongzheng Street to check out sights and shops that we'd skipped over earlier. The Danshui Church was lovely - sadly, however, we couldn't go in. We were surprised to discover a small museum next door in what used to be the Mackay Hospital. It was quite fascinating to learn what an impact Mackay - a Canuck! - had on Danshui. I decided that we should bypass Gongming Street and instead head back to the MRT station. We met a young man and his mother in the station. He overheard us speaking English and struck up a conversation. It turns out that David taught himself to speak English instead of studying at school or at a buxiban. His accent was spot-on and he spoke very naturally.
All of the seats on the MRT were taken so we had to stand all the way home. It wasn't too bad, though - before we knew it we were back at Dongmen. We rested in the hotel for a couple of hours, then picked ourselves up again and headed out. This time, we were on our way to the Ximendeng neighbourhood.
For those who have not been there, Ximendeng is like Times Square in New York - tall buildings, video billboards, flashing neon signs. The main areas of Ximendeng are pedestrian-only, but since this is Taipei trucks and scooters occasionally push their way through the crowds.
Our first stop in Ximendeng was the historic Red House, a red brick building originally built by the Japanese to house administrative offices. It has been converted to an arts center, where independent artists sell their unique wares. We had a great time there and Simone bought a few things to take home as gifts for friends.
From there we crossed over the street and made our way into the thronging crowds. We covered several blocks of the main shopping area, but all we did was take pictures. The clothing in Ximendeng is definitely selected to appeal to the Taipei youth.
After an hour or so we were getting hungry so we went in search of a place to grab dinner. We went to Sam's Hong Kong Noodles, thinking that it would have a "picture" menu and we could just point at what we wanted. Sadly, the menu was entirely in Chinese and I couldn't figure out enough of the characters to order for us. We left and walked back a couple of blocks to the Coco Curry House, a Japanese curry restaurant. We had to wait a few minutes for a table but that was okay because we were able to order from an English menu and as an added bonus some of the staff spoke a bit of English. One part of the meal was quite funny - both Mom and Simone ordered a pot of green tea, but something was wrong and they couldn't deliver the tea. Our waitress tried to explain in Mandarin but that didn't work. Then, another waitress with a bit of English tried to explain. Still no luck. Finally, a senior waitress who was fairly fluent in English came over to explain that they only had one tea pot and that Mom and Simone would have to share. I swear, if they'd just brought the one pot of tea and said nothing, we wouldn't have noticed.
Full of food and tired from the day's walking, we headed back to the MRT station. On the way there we noticed an Orthodox priest handing out brochures. I couldn't walk by and not ask him what he was doing there, so I went over and struck up a conversation. It turns out he has been in Taiwan for over 8 years and is the priest of an Orthodox church near Taipei 101. Who knew? We chatted about a wide range of subjects before wishing each other good night. I'm not religious, but I'm going to have to visit the church the next time I'm in that area.
27.7.13
Day 2: Jiangguo Market and Eslite
I met up with Mom and Simone for breakfast at the hotel. After stuffing ourselves with goodies from the buffet, we walked down Xinyi Road to the Jiangguo Market. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the plant market and thoroughly enjoyed getting "misted" a number of times! From there we entered the jade market. Less than half of the vendors were there, which was fine because the jade market is overwhelming when it's at full capacity. Simone fell in love with a bracelet made with clear yellow gemstones, but it was extremely expensive so she opted not to buy it. Later, as we walked back through the plant market a tea set caught her eye. It was also incredibly expensive - something like CAD$250. We joked about her expensive taste.
We crossed over Xinyi and went into the craft market. I explained to Mom and Simone that all of the vendors in the craft market are disabled in some way. For example, most of the painters are deaf. They have hearing "buddies" who help them communicate with customers. One vendor who sells hangings is mute, and uses evocative self-taught hand signals to "talk" to customers. Other vendors are in wheelchairs - and one "laoban" (manager) was a little person who used crutches to get around.
From the Jiangguo Market we walked to the Da'an MRT station and then to my favorite restaurant, Pho Savoy. We all had "bun" (cold rice noodles with veggies and sauce) topped with deep fried veggie spring rolls - yum! After gorging ourselves, we walked to my office because I forgot to print out the itinerary for our "Tour de Taiwan." I introduced them to Mr. Ye, the security guard that I always wave to when I arrive at work and leave for the night. I told them that he reminds me a lot of Dad, and they agreed.
Tired from walking, we caught a cab to the City Hall MRT station and I introduced them to the magic of Eslite. They were overwhelmed with all of the little shops and the vast array of products for sale. When we got to the book levels they were amazed at how many people were reading books in the aisles and at reading stations. Anywhere there was a perch, there was a person reading.
We caught a cab back to the hotel, freshened up, and then went back to Din Tai Fung for dinner. We had more xiaolongbao, shuijiao, and red bean paste baozi. We also ordered house fried rice to add a little variety to our meal. Once again the staff were amazing and we left feeling very satisfied.
It wasn't raining so we had another walk around the Yongkang Street area. This time the neighbourhood was full of people socializing, shopping, and walking off their dinner. The weather was perfect and we wanted to stay longer, but we were walked out. So, after 30 minutes or so Mom and Simone went back to the hotel and I caught a cab home.
We crossed over Xinyi and went into the craft market. I explained to Mom and Simone that all of the vendors in the craft market are disabled in some way. For example, most of the painters are deaf. They have hearing "buddies" who help them communicate with customers. One vendor who sells hangings is mute, and uses evocative self-taught hand signals to "talk" to customers. Other vendors are in wheelchairs - and one "laoban" (manager) was a little person who used crutches to get around.
From the Jiangguo Market we walked to the Da'an MRT station and then to my favorite restaurant, Pho Savoy. We all had "bun" (cold rice noodles with veggies and sauce) topped with deep fried veggie spring rolls - yum! After gorging ourselves, we walked to my office because I forgot to print out the itinerary for our "Tour de Taiwan." I introduced them to Mr. Ye, the security guard that I always wave to when I arrive at work and leave for the night. I told them that he reminds me a lot of Dad, and they agreed.
Tired from walking, we caught a cab to the City Hall MRT station and I introduced them to the magic of Eslite. They were overwhelmed with all of the little shops and the vast array of products for sale. When we got to the book levels they were amazed at how many people were reading books in the aisles and at reading stations. Anywhere there was a perch, there was a person reading.
We caught a cab back to the hotel, freshened up, and then went back to Din Tai Fung for dinner. We had more xiaolongbao, shuijiao, and red bean paste baozi. We also ordered house fried rice to add a little variety to our meal. Once again the staff were amazing and we left feeling very satisfied.
It wasn't raining so we had another walk around the Yongkang Street area. This time the neighbourhood was full of people socializing, shopping, and walking off their dinner. The weather was perfect and we wanted to stay longer, but we were walked out. So, after 30 minutes or so Mom and Simone went back to the hotel and I caught a cab home.
26.7.13
Day 1: Mom and Simone arrive!
Mom and Simone arrived safely at Taoyuan Airport with all of their luggage - and my archery equipment! They looked pretty good considering the length of the trip and the time change.
We caught the bus to Songshan Airport, then caught the MRT to Dazhi Station. From there we walked the two and a half blocks to my apartment. At 9am it was already 35C - quite the shocker for them! Once they had settled in at my place I headed to work.
I picked them up at my apartment later that day and we caught a cab to the Dandy Hotel. They checked in and after a bit of a refresher we went to Din Tai Fung for dinner. We got there around 5pm, which turned out to be perfect timing as we got a table right away. We ordered pork xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), shrimp shaomai, pork and shimp shuijiao (boiled dumplings) mushroom baozi (steamed buns), and red bean paste baozi.
Our waitress demonstrated how to mix the soy sauce and vinegar dip for the xiaolongbao, and how to eat them properly - dip the dumpling in the sauce mix, put it in a soup spoon, puncture it with a chopstick, and then pop it into your mouth.
It was pouring rain when we left the restaurant but we had a brief walk around the neighbourhood before heading back to the hotel. We sat down to watch a bit of telly, but about 20 minutes later Simone was asleep and Mom was fading fast. I said goodnight and caught a cab home.
We caught the bus to Songshan Airport, then caught the MRT to Dazhi Station. From there we walked the two and a half blocks to my apartment. At 9am it was already 35C - quite the shocker for them! Once they had settled in at my place I headed to work.
I picked them up at my apartment later that day and we caught a cab to the Dandy Hotel. They checked in and after a bit of a refresher we went to Din Tai Fung for dinner. We got there around 5pm, which turned out to be perfect timing as we got a table right away. We ordered pork xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), shrimp shaomai, pork and shimp shuijiao (boiled dumplings) mushroom baozi (steamed buns), and red bean paste baozi.
Our waitress demonstrated how to mix the soy sauce and vinegar dip for the xiaolongbao, and how to eat them properly - dip the dumpling in the sauce mix, put it in a soup spoon, puncture it with a chopstick, and then pop it into your mouth.
It was pouring rain when we left the restaurant but we had a brief walk around the neighbourhood before heading back to the hotel. We sat down to watch a bit of telly, but about 20 minutes later Simone was asleep and Mom was fading fast. I said goodnight and caught a cab home.
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